The Right Thing
by fireun
Summary: roy x ed....there the younger alchemist was, curled up in an exceptionally quiet and content sort of way...
1. Chapter 1

_the first line was stuck in my head all day. it evolved into this. yaoi warning my friends. and not happy yaoi. -fireun _

* * *

Of all the things Roy Mustang regretted doing in life; he had never thought to add Edward Elric to the list. But there the younger alchemist was, curled up in an exceptionally quiet and content sort of way, long hair spread over torso and pillow in that way only a good bout of sex provided. It was an impossible juxtaposition, Edward Elric and sex.

Again, a thing Roy had never thought to add to any of his lists. There had to be some sort of irony in the situation. Some sort of explanation that went beyond a need to feel, to touch, to let go in a way that wouldn't end in death but was no less violent.

Even the knowledge that the blond had initiated it, had latched onto his mouth with a fearsome demand that had denied refusal, didn't quash the flickering guilt that rose like bile in the back of Roy's throat, the worry that twisted like worms in the pit of his stomach.

He was doomed as soon as those golden eyes opened and blinked away the last bit of transitory pleasure. As soon as Ed stretched and felt sore in places that ordinarily had no business being sore, as soon as he noticed the marks on his arms and back, and the matching ones that decorated Roy's own torso, the bite marks that both of them had almost savagely marked the other with, it would all be over.

Roy didn't know if he could stand to see the revulsion in those eyes.

Damn well knew he wouldn't last through the rejection.

He froze as the limbs tangled in his own twitched, as Ed stirred a bit, making tiny noises in the back of his throat. The younger man stretched a bit, nuzzling into Roy's side like a kitten before rolling over. Unexpectedly free, Roy slid from the bed. The opportunity to not be there when Ed woke was not one to be wasted.

He was a coward. He stumbled into the kitchen, awkwardly trying not to kick over any precariously balanced stacks of books, narrowly missing a shoe, before catching himself on the counter. Such a coward. Couldn't even face a man he had just spent the better part of the previous night fucking.

There was nothing elegant about it. No flowery words. Just a stunning confusion of _touchtastesmell_…just a tumble of flailing limbs, hitched breaths. The sound of Ed exclaiming in surprise, in pleasure; an unexpected, magnificent sound. An addictive sound…

Throat convulsing as his stomach clenched, Roy hovered over the sink in a position he hadn't been in since his last drinking binge with Maes, years ago. Spitting up a bit of bile he leaned thankfully into the hand carefully rubbing his back.

…a hand rubbing his back….

Horrified, Roy swung his head around, trying desperately not to give into his urge to scream. A very sleepy, very _naked_, Ed stood behind him, awkwardly trying to soothe his distress. Roy felt his eyes trace every inch of that form, knowing it intimately, wanting to confirm how soft skin was there, how sensitive flesh was there…and he was appalled.

Disgusted.

Terrified.

Any minute now full awareness would enter into those beautiful gold eyes, marring the sleepy concern with aversion. Anticipation finally managed to turn his stomach, and he whirled back towards the sink, ignoring how the room managed to spin in his desperation. The next few minutes were spent in agony and embarrassment; dry heaving over a few dirty coffee mugs and an old bowl, Roy's only high point being that there wasn't anything in his stomach to bring up.

And all that time Edward hovered, obviously concerned. When was he going to realize what had happened? When was he going to howl and shout, proclaiming his displeasure to the heavens, not to mentions the neighbors? Long after his stomach had settled to an angry gurgle of acid, Roy stood silent, head hanging over his sink.

"Roy?"

Roy closed his eyes, jaw clenching. Here it was. Now the words were going to start.

"Shouldn't you sit down or something? You don't look so good."

Roy's eyes flew open as he turned, confused. This wasn't right…Ed wasn't supposed to be concerned…

But there he was, automail hand aggressively placed on his hip, flesh hand awkwardly patting Roy on the back. "What's wrong with you?" Roy muttered, his voice ragged.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Now sit the hell down."

There was no fighting the man when he decided to do something, and right now Ed had decided that it was time for Roy to sit. Having been maneuvered into a chair, Roy watched in a daze as Ed attempted to brew coffee. It would have been amusing, had it not been so…domestic.

That and Roy was fascinated with the move of thigh muscles as Ed moved, the tug and pull of the flesh of the alchemists ass as he reached for something not quite in reach. It made him feel subhuman, dirty, but he couldn't _stop_. Traitorous eyes appreciated the tone of that small body; rebellious hands remembered the intoxicating feel of those muscles moving to a rhythm they were just learning…

With a keening sigh his head sank into his hands. It was just so wrong…

"Hey, bastard, don't pass out there. I don't want to have to haul your sorry ass back to bed."

It was affronted, it was gruff…familiar…almost right…

But the panting memory of that voice was insidious, haunting,

Roy looked up, eyes dull. It would have been so much easier if Ed had been upset. "Edward…"

"Hm?" Ed turned to face Roy, hip turning just so as waited.

It was a delicious torture. Roy let himself make one more visual sweep of that perfect, sinful body, before meeting inquisitive gold eyes. "Could you please get dressed and go home."

It was damning to watch that face twist into angry confusion, the rejection of ones first lover was never easy to handle.

_I'm not rejecting you…you should be rejecting me…oh, you should be rejecting me…_

"I see. One more for the list, Colonel?" Ed sneered, thrusting out his hips suggestively. "Take a good long look bastard. Was it everything you wanted?"

_Needed…needed you. Need you…_

He watched, desolately, as Ed stomped off, listened to him mutter as he dressed, and watched the swirl of a red coat as the young man slammed the door shut behind him.

It was the right thing…the right thing….Roy pressed his temples, trying to forget the feel of Ed curled next to him, clutching onto him in sleep. "Right?" He whimpered into the empty room. The smell of fresh brewed coffee drifted into his nose and he sobbed.


	2. Chapter 2

_ok. ye olde part two. still snarky. still angsty. -fireun _

* * *

The sun was far too bright in his eyes. Lifting an arm in a vain attempt to shield out some of the more offensive rays, Roy winced as he felt muscles pull. He had slept in an unfamiliar position, and his body did not appreciate it. He rarely invited his conquests home, never let them spend the night…but Ed had been different…

Was different…

There had been no warning when he opened his door last night.

'_Hey, Colonel…'_

Aggressive, possessive lips, covering lack of experience with vehemence…automail arm gripping him, assuming he was going to run, to fight…

Not at all expecting him to _melt_.

Roy viciously cut through that train of thought. It seemed indecent, inappropriate to be thinking such things now. He had seen the disgust in Ed's eyes…had seen his face twist up in anger…

_Gold hair cascading down, brushing across his face…_

No.

Roy felt tired, impossibly, irreparably tired. His leg muscles twitched and protested his every step, wondering why the hell he had chosen today, of all days, to walk to the office. Maes had always said a good walk cleared the mind. He wondered why it was his friend's advice was failing him now.

Faithfully on autopilot, his legs carried him to the office, and paused a moment outside the door so he could compose himself. Fumbling to arrange his face into the familiar, but currently rather uncooperative, smirk, he caught a glimpse of himself in a bit of glass. And grimaced. Maybe he would just tell everyone he had had too much to drink last night. His eyes were bloodshot, the flesh around them bruised and bunched with exhaustion.

"I look like hell." Roy lost his attempted smirk for a heartbeat as his face rearranged itself into disgust before he regained control and firmly twisted his lips slightly _just so_, cocked one eyebrow upwards _just a bit_, and coaxed his legs into something more jaunty, less suited to some sort of funeral march.

Reality seemed to reassert itself as soon as he crossed that threshold. All of the demons and temptations of the night before vanished into the familiar babble of work almost getting done, the hint of cigarette smoke and gunpowder in the air, and the faint aroma of the cologne Havoc wore whenever he had a date scheduled after work. A familiar milieu; prompting actions and reactions which were more habit than thought at this point in the game.

Roy made his way through the office, making the appropriate comments to the appropriate people, snagged the entire pot of coffee, and vanished into his personal den, closing the door behind him.

And realized the smell of coffee was making him a rather unique sort of nauseous. He poked his head out the door long enough to hand the pot to a rather perplexed Hawkeye before retreating back behind the door.

The usual pile of papers received his usual lack of attention as he settled into his chair.

Roy quietly, desperately, worked on ignoring the fact that his morning ritual had been utterly destroyed by something as simple as a lack of coffee. The taste, the smell even left a very noticeable change in what mornings felt like. Add on the distinct rawness that plagued his throat and the fact his stomach was a roiling cauldron of acid and he was hard pressed to ignore the fact that something was wrong. His left hand took to tapping an irritable and irregular pattern on his desk as he tried to think of anything but last night.

…_Tastetouchsmell_…

"No." Roy snarled, hitting the desk. Maybe he should get some work done. Anything to distract his treacherous trains of thought.

A careful knock saved him not only from mental paths he had no desire to wander down, but doing work as well. An honest smirk lit his face as he settled himself into a comfortable sort of lounge before calling "enter."

For a second the smirk slipped as Ed entered, graceful….beautiful…just a bit of hair already escaping the confines of trademark braid. There was nothing in those eyes for Roy though, not even disgust. Ed marched his way to the desk, and set down a small bundle of papers.

"My report, sir."

So bland…

This wasn't _Ed_…Ed was irritable, fiery…._passionate_. "Is something the matter, Fullmetal?"

"Nothing that needs concern you, colonel."

"Everything that affects my men is my concern, no matter how…small."

To Roy's appalled amazement, Ed didn't even blink. "Anything else you need?" Ed seemed, if anything, bored….

It was wrong, so very wrong…and so very his _fault_….Roy could feel his control snapping, and wasn't actually sure in which direction it was going to go. Either way it was going to be rather explosive…

"Edward. You and I need to talk." Roy gritted it out from between clenched teeth. Apparently it was going to be anger. Excellent. Definitely easier to deal with. More familiar.

"I don't have anything to say." With that Ed turned, obviously intent on leaving.

"That's unfortunate. I _do_."

Ed whirled around, eyes blazing. Finally. "What the hell more do you want, you fucking bastard?" Throwing his arms to the side; "didn't you get enough last night? What the hell else do you want from me?"

"I am trying to do the right thing here!" Roy roared.

Hawkeye, definitely the bravest of those currently trying very hard to ignore the muffled arguing that was coming from Roy's office, decided it was in her Colonel's best interests to interfere. She opened the door, face bland. "Anything I can do for you, sir?" Her eyes flicked between the two men, taking in their aggressive stances and obvious anger, and decided that had been an excellent time to distract them from each other.

"We are fine, Lieutenant." Roy snapped the words with military precision, never once taking his eyes from Ed.

"Sir?"

"Fullmetal and I were just having a friendly conversation, weren't we?"

"Sure. And now it is over cause I have nothing to add, you egotistical ass." Ed hissed. "So why don't you leave me the hell alone!"

"I have things to say to you." Roy felt himself distancing from his anger, the same sort of detachment that preceded the battlefield. Cold analysis set in its wake. "Lieutenant, if you would please leave us for a while longer."

"Sir." She saluted. Right before she shut the door she reminded him "I'm right outside if you need me."

"Setting one of your damn dogs to guard the door, huh? So desperate to fight dirty?" Ed was furious.

"You are one of my 'dogs' as well, if you took a minute to remember your place here."

"Yeah? Do you take all of your 'dogs' to bed?"

"That's enough, Fullmetal…"

"No. No it isn't." Angry gold narrowed. "You fucking took advantage of me!"

"I did."

_Gloriously fierce, needy, flesh on warm flesh, automail scratching in just the right way, just hard enough…_

"So what? 'Oops, better send the kid home'? You seriously think that fixes it!"

"Tell me what I need to do."

_Tell me what you want…how you want it..._

"What if I don't want it fixed?" Ed's voice grew quiet, altogether too unsure for Roy's liking.

"What do you mean, you don't want it fixed?"

"What if I didn't want to be sent home…what if I wanted to stay there…with you."

"Fullm…Edward, I don't think you understand…"

"Don't give me that 'still a kid' crap. You didn't treat me like a kid last night. Don't think of me as younger only when it is convenient for you."

"That is the problem. I shouldn't have let….it shouldn't have happened…"

_Pressed tight against each other…panting for breath, exclamations sharp with astonished pleasure…_

"I wanted it."

Honestly, Roy had no idea how to respond to that quiet proclamation.

Fear of rejection had been vanquished by deadly earnest gold eyes. He had been clinging to that, his one hope of redemption, the one force that would be able to quell temptation.

…_touchtastesmell…_

The lack of that last line of defense left him well and truly damned…


	3. Chapter 3

This was not right, not how it was supposed to be…those eyes were not supposed to look at him like that, half-lidded but curiously intent…that face was not supposed to look that _eager_…

Roy felt carefully trimmed nails biting into his palms through his gloves. The muscles in his forearms quivered with the need to stay where he was, carefully behind the protection of his desk as well as the need to go, to trace the line of sculpted cheekbones with the reverence, the desire he desperately wanted to express…There was a different sort of burning in his stomach now, anticipation joining with indigestion in its acidic roiling.

And the carefully interested expression on Ed's face was not helping. Or the fact that he licked his lips nervously every now and then, leaving them moist and tempting…

_Damn._

Roy didn't remember standing, didn't remember moving towards Ed, though he noticed when nervous irritability turned to anticipation in those wide gold eyes, noticed when those same eyes slid shut, a soft breath sighed out from those enticingly moist lips as he drew one finger down the side of Ed's face…

And jerked back as reality chose a most opportune moment to intrude in the form of a polite knock on his office door.

Roy was embarrassed to note he felt guilty as a teen caught with his hands in his pants as he stumbled his way back to stand safely behind his desk, ignored the most irate glare Ed was shooting his way, cleared his throat, and suggested whomever was knocking enter.

Havoc poked his head in, analyzed the situation as safe, and entered completely and irreverently as ever, tossing a lazy wave in Roy's direction, the closest he got to a salute in the office. "Mustang, got some questions for you…oh, hey boss." He snapped a grin Ed's way, making nothing of the smoldering wrath that seemed to emanate from the blond. He couldn't be blamed, honestly, as Ed tended to spend a good portion of his time in Roy's office in one state of anger or another.

What he wasn't ready for was the fact Ed shot one last spite-filled, _blushing_ glare at Roy, then turned and left.

Without a word.

As soon as the door was safely slammed shut Havoc pulled a cig free, lit, and leaned against the nearest piece of furniture, a rather uncomfortable looking chair. "So...you wanna explain that one to me?"

"Hawkeye will shoot you for smoking in the office." Roy admonished, settling back down into his chair, an odd look on his face. He could still feel the warmth of Ed's flushing cheeks on his fingertips…

Havoc watched, bemused, as Roy silently rubbed the forefinger and thumb of his right hand together in an oddly gentle motion. "Nice try. I can wait."

For some reason the amusement in Havoc's voice angered him. Roy launched a withering glower at his friend and subordinate. "I am not in the mood, Second Lieutenant. Did you have actual business or did you just feel the need to involve yourself in my personal business?"

"Nothing meant by it. Just messing around." Havoc held his hands out in entreaty, hoping to stem the burst of temper he could see rising in Roy's narrowed eyes. "About the information I received today…"

Roy had never been so happy to see the back of Havoc vanish out his door. Pinching the bridge of his nose against the headache that was threatening to attack at any second, he turned his head towards the issues he found more pressing than any military operation.

Damn, now Edward was affecting his performance at work, his chance at advancement. This was becoming more serious a problem than he had originally anticipated. Unacceptable.

Unavoidable.

Too much conflict, too many sensations battering their way through his mind, all demanding his immediate attention… It was odd, how fast he had moved from debilitating guilt to mere consternation.

He didn't want to…couldn't accept the thought that he accepted the fact the Ed genuinely desired him, _enjoyed_ him. It was…inappropriate. It was….

Exhilarating.

He had seen how much barely touching Ed had affected the younger man, how merely brushing a finger along the curve of a cheek had elicited a shuddering breath, how Ed had leaned into the caress, eyes starting to slide shut. To have so much power…to be able to affect such a standoffish, excitable individual…

Intoxicating.

…_touchtastesmell…_

Unforgivably inappropriate.

Roy's head sank down to rest in the cradling comfort of his hands as he lost his impromptu battle with the headache. The campaign against his morals was proving to be more taxing than anticipated.

Damn Edward for not being repulsed. Damn him for all the desperate kisses, the clutching fingers…

Roy groaned, head pounding along with his unsteady heartbeat. He decided to damn himself in there as well, for wanting to experience it again…

* * *

It wasn't fair, really, the way Edward was handling this. Roy had expected the blond to rant, to rave, to howl his displeasure at anyone who was unfortunate enough to be close enough to be considered an audience. He had expected hatred, he had expected to be shunned or spat at even.

What he was not expecting was his favorite brand of coffee to be waiting for him on his desk. A rather hard to find coffee, roasted and flavored just so…He had stumbled upon it utterly by accident on one campaign or another, and the addicting had been instantaneous.

Never mind the fact he hadn't been able to touch the stuff for about three weeks, a point which he stubbornly refused to blame on the fact Ed had tried so ineptly to brew it in the wee hours of a rather disastrous morning. This rather unexpected bag of fine beans could be blamed on Edward though, as it sat, rather smugly even, atop Edward's written report.

So. The alchemist was back. Roy decided to ignore the little lurch his stomach indulged in at that point, as well as the skittery sort of heartbeat he experienced for as he sat down and slid the report out from under the coffee. Damn, there was even a tacky little bow on the bag. He could almost _see_ that damn kids self satisfied smirk. Roy also politely ignored the answering smile that twitched to feral life on his own face.

He had sent the alchemist on an assignment after all, he had sent him away. He shouldn't be so damn….ecstatic to have tangible evidence that Edward was back. It made no coherent sense. Never mind that the plans running through his head involving some rather expensive brandy and a quiet dinner for two also failed to make any sort of sense.

But there it was.

Roy was rather annoyed to note that his hands shook just a bit as he read through the correct to a fault and unnervingly polite and sincere report. Anticipation. What a deadly drug. He wondered if Ed had gotten any more sun, if it had lightened his hair just a bit, if it had darkened his skin. He wondered what the alchemist would smell like, whether he would have gathered scents from his travel.

He wondered when the hell the safely distant "Fullmetal" had turned into "Edward" or "Ed", even in the convoluted morass of his inner monologue. It was…inconvenient.

As was the tantalizing scent of coffee that was oozing its way up from the bag in front of him.

His stomach gurgled a bit, making the association between self-loathing and coffee that he had grown accustomed to. But…there was something unobtrusive about the gift, something knowledgeable…

"You…genius." Roy finally barked out in a laugh. As with everything, the coffee was a brilliant tactic on Ed's part. Of course he would have found out that his colonel was avoiding his beloved beverage. All Ed had to do was talk to anyone. Information gathering was one of Ed's stronger points, when he had the patience to actually carry through on it.

"Trying to make me pay attention, hm?" Roy rested his chin in cupped palms, grinning appreciatively. "Figured I am easier to manipulate from a distance?"

"Not really, sir."

Roy jumped, his left knee slamming into the bottom of his desk with enough force to jerk the piece of furniture upwards a bit. Frantically looking about, Roy belatedly noticed the form reclining on the small couch off to the side of the office. Edward stretched lazily, yawning, before hauling himself upright.

"You are so damn single-minded when you come into the office first thing in the morning. Only problem is you come in so early. You wouldn't believe how early I had to have Al wake me…"

Roy was reduced to rather ineloquent blinking as his brain attempted to catch up with his nerves.

"And after I got back so late too. Some people are inconsiderate as all hell."

"No one told you to be here at the crack of dawn." Roy snapped, finally finding some sort of mental footing in being affronted.

"Some people never would have thought to tell me to be here at the crack of dawn." Ed arranged himself into a comfortable lounge, arms across the back of the couch, and frowned. "Wanted to stop by and say hello. That's all."

"You didn't have to sneak into my office for something as inane as that. You could have, like any sane individual, waited until you were rested and come into the office at a normal hour." Roy was trying, very hard, not to lose his already tempted temper. He wanted to grab Ed by the collar of his shirt, shake him around and demand to know what the hell he was _thinking_.

"I was gone a week. Didn't you miss me at all?"

"Miss your asinine, irrational temper and incomprehensible demands? Not at all."

"Now colonel, that isn't very fair."

Roy really, really didn't like the look on Ed's face, didn't like the fact he wasn't rising to the bait. It was a deviance from the norm, and it was starting to make Roy nervous. It was the smug look of someone who was convinced they had already won.

"You looked so happy when you got in and saw my present for you this morning."

So that was it. The little bastard had planned it that way, played him. Roy felt himself deflate, slump back into his chair, somewhat at a loss. "I don't drink coffee anymore."

"Why aren't you drinking coffee?" Ed leaned forward, intent.

There was almost an entire office between them, but to Roy it wasn't near enough space. "It turns my stomach."

"It never used to."

"It does now, understood?" Roy heard the catch in his voice, and despised it. He hated feeling so unsure, so in the _wrong_ when he was around Edward. "When did you become so interested in my personal well-being?"

"You matter." Ed shrugged, as if it was the easiest answer in the world.

"I don't understand you."

"You don't try. You constantly go at it from what _you_ think is right, is best. How the hell can you expect to understand?" Ed stood and started to pace a tiny circuit around the front of the couch, as was his habit when irritated. "You don't want the coffee because it reminds you of that morning. Am I correct?"

"Everything isn't about you…" Roy started, more than willing to launch into an argument, anything to distract the oddly purposeful intent that seemed to be radiating from the pacing alchemist.

"You didn't have any that morning. Hawkeye was worried that you were ill or something. Havoc learned how to brew the stuff, so you obviously haven't had any in awhile." Ed stared off, as if reading mental notes, as he spoke. "You send me on missions more fit for Farman or some other intelligence oriented officer. You give up your favorite drink merely because it reminds you of me in some way. Am I that distasteful to be around?"

"The problem is I don't find you distasteful at all." Roy couldn't…couldn't try and retain his anger, not in the face of such quiet interrogation.

"We have had almost every possible permutation of this argument, Mustang." Ed punched the back of the couch. "What the hell do you want from me?"

"I am your commanding officer, Fullmetal."

"Shit, Roy, back down for a minute. I hauled my ass into this office at least an hour before anyone else will be showing up. I brought you back a gift. I didn't do this for a damn commanding officer."

Roy pointed at his uniform, at the insignia marking his rank. "Unfortunately, Fullmetal, your commanding officer is who sits in this office."

"We are going to dinner then."

It so perfectly mirrored what Roy had wanted a mere handful of minutes ago…He stared at Ed, jaw slack. "What?"

"If I can't talk to you as anything other than a subordinate officer in the office, we are going to talk outside the office. So we are going to dinner." He looked so proud of the decision, toothy smile on his face. "I will wait for you out front. Hmm…I will ask Hawkeye when you are allowed to leave…"

"You will do no such thing!"

"Try and stop me, bastard colonel." A quick grin, and a stomping retreat colored in swirling red, and Ed was gone, the door slammed merrily behind him.

As soon as he recovered a bit from being well and truly overwhelmed, Roy couldn't help but smile. That was the Ed he knew, impetuous and overconfident.

And biting off much more than he could handle.


	4. Chapter 4

'_It wasn't fair'_ was a thought Roy was experiencing far too often. And it was usually followed by some sort of surprise. When Ed had said he was going to be waiting, Roy had not expected a…_patient_ looking Elric to be lounging outside the office….not dressed like…_that_.

For one the trademark red coat was absent, leaving only a rather…nice black shirt, the usual black pants, and the chain marking Ed's pocket watch, which lay so perfectly against the leg of his pants that Roy suspected Ed of having fixed it there by some sort of alchemically arcane means. White gloves were in place, Ed still not being comfortable flaunting his automail in public.

The biggest difference, the one that had Roy stopped just outside the door and staring like a damn idiot, was the fact Ed's customary braid had been replaced. It was, in all reality, the smallest of changes, but the connotation… The braid was more utilitarian, a solid way of keeping that thick mane of hair safely out of the way in Ed's fast paced lifestyle. To see that braid undone…that beautiful hair held back only by a hair tie, shifting almost constantly with the slight evening breeze…

It was mesmerizing.

Roy wanted to run his hands through that hair…to feel again how soft it was, to have it cascade down and brush lightly across his face as Ed threw his head back in a gasp of surprised pleasure…

"You're late, Colonel." Ed pushed himself away from the tree he had been lounging against, a feral grin on his face. "Hoping if I waited long enough I would get discouraged and go home?"

"N…no such thing!"

"Whatever you say, sir."

This was horribly…backwards. Roy had no reason, absolutely NO reason to feel like some adolescent. He shouldn't feel so awkward, so off center…and Ed should not be sauntering like that. Roy should be wearing that smug little grin, he should be the one so very pointedly staring, an appreciative look on his face. who the hell had the kid been taking lessons from?

"Well, Mustang, are you hungry?"

"Yes." _Damn, that sounded far too anxious…_ "It's been a long day." What a cliché response… Roy could feel his last tenuous grip on the situation start to fail at the throaty laugh that rumbled its way out of Edward. It was an unfamiliar sound- _outside of the intimate confines of the bedroom…_ a delicate shudder or three twitched their way along Roy's spine as he finally stopped trying to stand apart from the situation. Ed wasn't going to let him remain detached.

That was the point of dinner.

Of the coffee.

Edward stood, a mere handful of feet away, just outside of intimacy, eyes intent on Roy's face. "Well, are we going to get dinner, you bastard, or are you going to just stand there and stare?"

There was a gruff catch to Ed's voice, and Roy finally grasped the situation in its entirety. The little bastard was feeling as out of sorts as he was, maybe even more so, he was just handling it better. In true Elric fashion, what made him feel vulnerable he attacked head on.

Overconfident. Impulsive. _Delectable._

…_touchtastesmell…_

Daring more than he ever had, risking the rejection he had been wary of, Roy closed those last few feet and ran one finger down Ed's cheek, drinking in the shuddering breath that Ed hissed out in response, gold eyes wide with shock. Roy wanted to do more now that he had decided to make a move…wanted to trail bare fingers through temptingly loose blond hair, snag it, pull it just a little…wanted those wide eyes to glaze over with sensation…

But directly in front of his place of work, with a subordinate, was most likely not the wisest choice of location or action. "What did you have in mind for dinner, Edward?" Roy purred, drawing back a bit, watching Ed try and work coherent thought back into action. He delighted in the slightly dazed look that lingered in those gorgeous eyes, in the fact that he was the cause.

"I found this café…" Ed scrambled after his elusive thought processes, trying to regain control of what had been his date.

Not a trace of regret, not a hint of rejection…something harsh eased up, something that had been bothering Roy for as long as he cared remember. His face softened, a genuine smile peeking out from behind the smirk firmly, familiarly, in place. "Lead the way."

"I was going to, bastard. Don't need your permission." Ed grumped, engaging his usual tactics in an attempt to regain control of the situation.

At least he refrained from stomping off…

Dinner was a fascinating display of awkward courtship, complete with each trying desperately not to be caught looking at the other, while trying just as desperately to enjoy the view.

It led to rather awkward attempts at conversation.

Every bit of contact, every arm that brushed another while reaching for salt or fingers that managed to touch while passing the bread, sent bursts of excited, embarrassed sensation through each of them. Each foot that nudged against the other was a reminder of how _close_ they were. It was a tension that had evolved from their usual spats, matured into something more poignant, more refined.

Ed ate with a single minded determination not to pay attention to his partner, while Roy ingested some fine brandy in an attempt to settle nerves that had not gotten this worked up since a hellish night spent out in a cold desert having his heart broken, in a frighteningly non-metaphorical sense.

"…'s wrong?"

"Hm?" Roy looked up from the gently swirling contents of his glass to meet (for the first time that dinner) Ed's eyes.

"I said, 'what's wrong?'"

"Nothing. Why?"

"You have been looking down into that glass for the better part of ten minutes. Hell, I even kicked you a few times and you didn't even look up."

_Sore, burned hands pulling desperately on a rough uniform, pleading…pale eyes staring at him from behind cracked rectangular lenses, pitying…rejecting…_

"Hey. I'm sorry…" Ed sounded so contrite…

Roy blinked, and was surprised to feel a stray bit of moisture wandering its way down his face. "It's nothing."

"I shouldn't have pried. I am sorry. Hell, I shouldn't have forced you into coming out. Didn't know you were so against the idea…" Ed was babbling desperate to cover his own dismay with words.

"Not your fault. Nothing to do with you, actually. Just remembering something I think I was avoiding. After a fashion…"

"Well…while you were woolgathering I paid for dinner. Unless you want some coffee I was thinking we could leave."

Roy downed the last of the brandy, remembering he actually didn't like the stuff with a grimace. "Who said you were paying?"

"I did. I invited you out. It's only fair." All tentative awkwardness vanished as Ed's face hardened. "Don't even try and argue about that with me, dammit."

Roy held out a hand in entreaty. "I wouldn't dare. Though, since you took care of dinner, I insist you come to my apartment for a bit."

The awkwardness returned in force as both of them stared, each equally intent on what spending time at Roy's would entail. A faint blush rose in Ed's cheeks, but his lips pursed in a determined line as he nodded once, agreeing.

"Excellent." Roy murmured, standing with a stretch. "After you."


End file.
